


How To (Accidentally) Adopt A Dog

by Ostodvandi



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Dogs, Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22408672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ostodvandi/pseuds/Ostodvandi
Summary: Eustace and Vaseraga find a stray dog in the street, and decide to take it to the Grandcypher.
Relationships: Eustace/Vaseraga (Granblue Fantasy)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	How To (Accidentally) Adopt A Dog

The sun is already setting on the horizon of this skydom by the time Eustace pays for the last thing on the captain's list, and, considering how long this chore has turned out to be, they're lucky it isn't dark by the time they walk out of the Knickknack Shack.

‘Come back soon!’ Sierokarte exclaims as they leave, Eustace checking the list of objects yet again. Siero doesn’t seem to have forgotten anything, so he folds the paper and puts it in his pocket before taking some of Vaseraga’s bags. 

‘Is that all?’

Eustace hums, and they make their way back to the Grandcypher. It’s not an island they haven’t visited with the crew before, so it would be a swift and mostly silent walk back home if it weren’t for an unexpected whimper the erune’s ears detected. 

Vaseraga notices Eustace halting on the way suddenly, his ears moving slightly towards one of the multiple alleys of the small city. ‘Something wrong?’

‘I’m going to take a look.’

Vaseraga nods, waiting for him by the bags Eustace carefully leaves on the ground as the latter walks into the alley. It could be a wounded child that awaited him at the end of the short alley, just as likely as a trap or something else entirely.

But he doesn’t expect to find a small ball of fur curled up at the end of the alley, whimpering in a voice so low it’s no wonder nobody else has heard it. 

‘What is it?’ He hears Vaseraga say, from the other side of the alley. 

‘A dog.’ A very small one. Eustace walks a little closer, and the animal looks up, whining in fear, and he presses his lips thin. ‘It’s wounded, or sick.’ He hears Vaseraga hum. ‘Could we take it aboard?’

‘I doubt the captain would mind,’ and Eustace agrees with a nod. ‘Is it scared?’ Much to Eustace’s sadness, he nods again. ‘I’ll carry it, then. You take the bags.’

Eustace sighs in relief and gets out of the alley to let Vaseraga in and hold the bags of groceries instead of him. Funnily enough, the puppy doesn’t seem any more scared of Vaseraga’s presence than he is of Eustace’s, the erune would even say Vaseraga is less scary to animals than him.

In any case, they rush their way back to the Grandcypher, where someone in the large crew the captain has gathered should be able to heal whatever problem this puppy has.

‘Vaseraga! Eustace!’ Lyria salutes from high up on the ship, and she gasps when she notices the dog on Vaseraga’s arms. In a rush, she walks up to them just as they come on board, giving the animal a worried look. ‘Oh, no! What happened?’

‘Eustace found it,’ Vaseraga explains. ‘It looks sick. Do you know of someone that could help it out?’

‘Mmmmh.’ Lyria frowns, tapping her own cheek. ‘I’ll search for someone! Hold up, little doggy!’

And so she rushes away, just as quickly as she had come. 

* * *

Lyria does find someone in the end to help the dog: a man that is plenty passionate about cats, apparently, that Eustace doesn’t know that much about. But he’s the owner of most of the cats in the Grandcypher, he finds out, so maybe it would be good to get to know him eventually for some help with approaching the animals.

‘We have a long way ahead,’ the captain explains, arms crossed over their chest, expression pensive. ‘We have to visit another island to deliver the cargo, and then we will go back to the last one… Then we should be able to find the owner, if he has one.’

Eustace nods, since he can’t do much else anyway. The dog didn’t seem familiarized with humans or erunes, but didn’t seem scared of draphs. Or maybe there is something special about Vaseraga specifically.

Eustace is, to be honest, a little jealous.

‘Ah, Eustace.’ He looks up at his captain. ‘We could give him a name, since he’s going to stay for so long.’

‘A name…’

‘I’ll let you and Vaseraga think of one, if you two are alright with it. You found him, after all.’

* * *

As soon as the dog can walk again, Vaseraga notices a peculiar trend: Wherever he goes, the dog follows. When he’s carrying cargo from one place to the other, the dog follows, and when he’s training, he sits close by, eyes fixed on him. Of course, Zeta notices, and, of course, she has to stop training and comment on it, even if it’s unnecessary. 

‘So, did you and Eustace finally adopt a kid, or…?’

Vaseraga sighs. ‘No.’

‘But that little boy follows you everywhere. It’s like a baby duck, following his mommy wherever she is…’

And he sighs, again. ‘Just focus on the task.’

‘Have you and Eustace given him a name?’

Well, there doesn’t seem to be any point anymore on holding up his scythe. ‘No.’

‘I think you should.’ She looks at the dog, who is a deep brown color all around, floppy - kinda adorable - ears, and the gears in her brain start turning. Vaseraga doesn’t like this. ‘How about… Oh, how about Brownie? He sort of looks like a big brownie.’

That was better than what he was expecting, and he looks at the dog - Brownie? -, whose head immediately perks up under Vaseraga’s attention. ‘I’ll tell Eustace.’

Zeta scoffs, a crooked smirk crossing her face. ‘Of course. Gotta ask your lovey dovey boyfriend first.’

* * *

At night, as per usual, Vaseraga lies down first, face up. Eustace follows shortly after, making his way to the other’s chest and laying his head there. Depending on the day, the erune might surround his lover with one arm, in an attempt to pull him closer, and it would take a while for both of them to fall asleep, for different reasons.

However, there has been a change these last three days due to recent events, and it goes like this: Eustace closes the door behind him, stretches to prepare to lie down, and the dog pushes the door open, entering like this has always been his bedroom. Eustace follows him with his wide open, fascinated eyes, and his ears perk up in a specific way only those close to them are capable of identifying, Vaseraga included in that selected group.

That night is the third this happens, and after the dog lies down on some pillows Eustace left there for him this morning, the erune enters the bed, covering both Vaseraga and himself with the blankets.

After a moment of silence, Vaseraga speaks - a rarity during moments like this. ‘Zeta suggested a name for him.’

Eustace shifts on the bed, lifting himself up with his hands. What to expect of a name suggested by her? Especially when she had been teasing them about the animal the whole time. ‘Which one?’

‘Brownie.’

Eustace’s eyebrows arch up, and he slowly lies down on Vaseraga’s chest again, thoughtful. It fits the dog, and it’s the name of a sweet.  _ Brownie is a very sweet dog _ . That thought feels right in his chest, and Eustace smiles.

‘Mmh. I think it fits.’

* * *

They’d also get up early most mornings, sometimes before the sun could even enter the room properly at all. This is one of those mornings, when the slightest sound wakes Eustace up before the proper hour, and he sits up on the bed, yawning. Vaseraga groans, noticing Eustace’s absence, but he doesn’t open his eyes just yet.

The erune looks at the spot where the dog rests, splayed over the pillows, and he feels the urge to rub his belly, even knowing that Brownie might run away or just not receive the cuddles enthusiastically if he did that. He seems to be a shy dog that only fully trusts Vaseraga.

‘Something wrong?’

His voice sounds hoarse, but it doesn’t startle Eustace despite how sudden it is. ‘No, it’s just… He, hm, Brownie. Is there.’

‘It looks like he’s taken a liking to those pillows, in the end.’ Eustace nods, and Vaseraga lifts himself up with his elbows. ‘But there’s something wrong.’

‘I was wondering…’ His ears lower. ‘If he would like to sleep on the bed… At some point.’

If only Brownie liked him, of course. 

‘I don’t think Brownie dislikes you,’ Vaseraga says, and clears his throat. ‘Not as much as you think he does, anyway.’

That does make Eustace feel a little better, and he bends down to give Vaseraga one short morning kiss. ‘Maybe. We’ll see how it goes.’

* * *

Days go by, and they arrive at the destination the captain had told them about: a relatively small island, especially compared with the things they’ve already seen, where only a couple of villages stand and thrive. They have requested some resources from very specific islands, as Sierokarte had told them weeks ago, and the captain assigns Vaseraga, Zeta and Eustace to deliver said resources to the stores that requested it.

Brownie, as is usual, joins in, walking some steps behind Vaseraga, eyes wide open and seemingly analyzing everything he sees. A small, rare smile pulls at the corners of Eustace’s lips. Brownie must be excited about seeing a new place, and he’s glad Vaseraga’s imposing figure makes him feel safe. He can understand the sentiment somewhat.

The delivery is quick and swift as expected, and the group is thanked for their efforts. The Grandcypher will stay the night in this island, so they have some leisure time available, which Eustace and Vaseraga decide to spend resting and following Brownie around the village. 

When he arrived at the Grandcypher, sick, dirty and starved, it had been hard for him even to run or walk too much, and he barely interacted with anyone besides Vaseraga. So seeing him now, running around the village without straying too far from them - still a little scared of people, but not nearly as much as before - puts an easy, small smile on Eustace’s face.

The exhaustion of the previous activities of the day catches up to him, however, and he yawns, stretching his arms. Vaseraga sounds amused when he speaks. ‘A nap could be convenient. And I’m tired as well.’

Eustace considers it silently. They have time until they have to go back to the Grandcypher, and the weather is warm enough to not be insufferable, so the conditions are great for a satisfactory nap. The shade of any tree should be a perfect spot for it, and Brownie seems to agree because he lies down under one, stomach up as if asking for it to be rubbed.

And Vaseraga kneels down to do just that, carefully stroking Brownie’s tummy, while Eustace accommodates himself, back against the trunk. The sun makes its way through some spots between the leaves, and closes his eyes, falling asleep rather quickly.

Minutes later, Vaseraga watches Brownie get up from the ground and walk closer to Eustace, falling asleep by his side. Vaseraga hums knowingly and joins them under the shade.

* * *

Eustace wakes up in the middle of the night, to the strange feeling of a weight towards the end of the bed. His eyes stay closed, stance alert for any suspicious movement, keeping his breath slow and deep. The mysterious weight, however, doesn’t seem to move, and Vaseraga’s breath rises and falls just as it usually does whenever he’s deeply asleep. A small amount of light comes from the window in their chamber, a clear night filled with stars and a crescent moon outside. 

There’s another breathing, however, that he assumes to be Brownie’s. No other sounds, though, which wouldn’t make sense if the invader were a thief, unless they’re on Jamil’s level. Theft itself is rare on the Grandcypher, so he discards that possibility. If it were an assassin - something even rarer, but possible, considering all the facts - they would be dead already, or either Vaseraga of Eustace himself would have noticed.

Not discarding the possibility of danger, Eustace moves slowly, lifting himself up on the bed, and his eyes scrutinize the familiar room around him, and at the end of the bed, there’s-

Brownie?

Eustace’s heartbeat picks up the pace as his eyes get used to the dark and distinguish the dog’s dark fur under the scarce moonlight. He sleeps peacefully, curled up, head resting on his paws, back rising and falling as he breathes.

He places a hand on Brownie’s head, and the dog opens his eyes, staring up at Eustace. A moment of tension passes by, and then, the animal rubs his head against the erune’s palm, asking for more cuddles.

‘Ah,’ Eustace says out loud, and, this time, Vaseraga groans when he wakes up completely. Eustace looks back, watching the draph rub his eyes open. ‘...Sorry.’

He’s making a habit out of waking Vaseraga up when he shouldn’t, it looks like, but he doesn’t seem to mind. ‘Mmh.’

‘He’s… letting me touch him,’ Eustace explains, voice coming out just a little too high-pitched and rough for his usual self. Vaseraga responds with another vague sound.

‘I told you it would be fine.’ 

Eustace nods, but still has a hard time believing it. Unable to go back to sleep that easily, he keeps gently rubbing Brownie’s face, smiling tenderly. He feels Vaseraga’s eyes on him, even if he should be sleeping as well.

That look is good on Eustace’s face, but Vaseraga will keep that to himself.

* * *

Eustace finds that he isn’t particularly excited about going back to the island where they found Brownie. In fact, it makes his chest hurt in a very particular way. Brownie is playing with a ball of paper he has found somewhere, and Eustace watches, trying to absorb every second of it.

Eventually, however, they have to walk off the Grandcypher with Vaseraga’s company to meet Sierokarte.

‘First of all, I’ve been doing some research on Brownie!’ she announces, and her usual smile turns into a worried expression. ‘I haven’t found anyone that knows the origin of this little boy, sadly.’

‘I see,’ Vaseraga replies. ‘It’s strange. Sometimes he acts like a domestic dog.’

‘Does he?’ Siero tilts her head, curious. ‘Well, maybe he was… well, abandoned. Someone coming from another completely different island and leaving him here… Some people are that cruel, after all.’

Eustace frowns. The mere thought of someone abandoning Brownie to survive on his own is insulting, and makes his stomach curl. But it’s also the most likely explanation. Bastards.

‘Ah, I have an idea!’ 

Eustace looks back up at Sierokarte, who is smiling from ear to ear. ‘What is it?’

‘Why don’t you two keep Brownie?’ Vaseraga and Eustace look at each other, talking without words. ‘It looks like he likes you both a bunch! You two would make great dads for him.’

Zeta had also used that terminology, albeit mocking them with it, but it still makes something soften inside Eustace. Maybe it’s the same for Vaseraga, but he isn’t sure.

He’s pretty sure Brownie can’t understand the situation, but the way he sits by Eustace and looks up at him feels a little like a sign.

‘That’s a good idea,’ Vaseraga concedes.

‘...It is.’ Eustace bends down, stroking Brownie’s head.

‘I don’t think the captain will mind it, so! It’s decided then!’

Eustace hums, smiling.

From that night onwards, there is always a little boy sleeping at their feet.

**Author's Note:**

> I have [a Twitter](https://twitter.com/Ostodvandi)!


End file.
